A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to restructure his cabinet, describing the move as long overdue.
Nwauju has consistently advocated for a cabinet reshuffle, including the merging of the Ministry of Police Affairs with the Ministry of Interior, aligning with the Steve Oronsaye report on restructuring government agencies to reduce costs and enhance efficiency.
He praised the President for heeding Nigerians’ calls to retain Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo as Minister of Interior, recognizing Tunji-Ojo’s transformative leadership and achievements within the Ministry.
Nwauju highlighted that correctional centres nationwide have shown substantial improvements in aesthetics and inmate well-being, marking a shift from punitive measures to comprehensive rehabilitation.
He said, “In August of 2024, a 50% increase in daily feeding allowance per inmate across the 254 correctional centres nationwide was achieved plus orchestrating the clearance of fines and compensations worth N585 million for 4,068 inmates, are strong evidence in the push to reform our criminal justice system.
“With strong commitments to partnerships entered into by his Ministry through the Nigeria Correctional Services, an ultra-modern furniture factory was completed at Borno State, while a garments and shoes factory was completed at Abia State.
“The Interior Ministry has also ended years of stagnation in the paramilitary services under its supervision by ensuring the promotion of over 60,000 senior and junior officers across the Immigration, Civil Defence and Immigration Services. Also, a functional Pensions Board has been established aligning paramilitary salaries with those of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF.
“Nwauju also notes that under the supervision of the Interior Ministry, a backlog of 204,333 passports at the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) was cleared off the desk, completion of state-of-the-art Data Center and Command and Control Center at the NIS headquarters for ease of visa/passport application; installation of E-gates at several airports across the country has been achieved,” he added.
Tinubu’s cabinet restructure was long overdue – Tunji Ojo hails President
